In the Past
by prepare4trouble
Summary: Just before the episode 'Holy Matrimony', Jessie meets a familiar looking boy


This story is set just before the episode Holy Matrimony. 

**In the Past**

A young boy sat on a bench in a park, he was dressed in what used to be an expensive suit. One of the knees was ripped and it was covered in mud from hiding in the rose bushes for so long. Next to him, his pet Growlithe was laying, enjoying the afternoon sun. The boy's purple hair hung around his face and he was eating a donut while looking nervously around for his pursuer. He thought he'd been hidden long enough for her to have gotten bored and left but you could never be sure. He patted the Growlithe's head and sighed. 

"If only there was a way to escape from her for good" he said, but he knew he would never manage it. He was going to marry Jessebelle and there was nothing he could do about it. Life was so unfair. He finished the donut and got out another, but thought better of it. There would be trouble if he didn't eat his dinner, it wasn't 'proper' to not eat all your food. 

"Time to go Growlie" he said, and was about to get up when a lady sat down at the other side of the bench. She was quite tall with bright red hair. She wore boots, a short white top and a skirt with a large letter R printed on it. She looked a ittle bit like the dreaded Jessebelle but slightly older and much prettier. She looked around as if she was looking for someone. James, jumping at the opportunity to not go home yet, decided to try and strike up a conversation with her. 

"What does the 'R' mean?" He asked, then blushed, remembering how improper it was to start a conversation with a stranger with a question. He was supposed to introduce himself and make small talk first. 

"Rocket," she answered, "I'm in Team Rocket. I'm looking for my partner, have you seen him?" she asked. James shook his head, 

"I don't know" he said, "what does he look like?" 

"His hair's about the same colour as yours," she said, "and he's wearing an outfit with an 'R' on, like this one." James grinned, 

"An outfit like yours!?," he said, "Do you mean he's wearing a skirt?" Jessie smiled back at him, she liked this kid. 

"Not today, he's got trousers today, but that's only because I couldn't think of a reason to make him wear a skirt." James was baffled, 

"You mean you make him wear lady's clothes? Wow, I'd never do that, no matter who told me to, not even if Jessebelle told me to. He must be really scared of you, are you his wife?" Jessie laughed, 

"No," she said although James thought he detected a little remorse in that word, almost as if she had wished she could have said yes, "he's just a friend, and I think he probably enjoys dressing up, he's not so scared of me that he couldn't say no... At least I don't think he is." James saw an opportunity to avoid going home for even longer. 

"I'll help you look for him," he said, "as long as we don't go anywhere near that big house." He pointed to a huge mansion not far away. 

"OK," agreed Jessie, "You've got a deal, but what's wrong with that house?" As they walked away from the mansion, James explained how he was being forced to marry a girl who was obsessed with doing things 'properly'. When he finished the story, Jessie agreed she sounded horrible. 

"Why don't you refuse to marry her?" she asked, "Surely they can't force you." 

"They can," said James, "There's nothing I can do. The only way out would be to run away, but then I'd lose my inheritance" 

"And would it be better to loose yourself?" Jessie asked, "Because if you marry her and she forces you to be how she wants you, you won't be you anymore." 

James thought about that for a second "But all that money... If I ran away I'd be poor, I don't think I'd like that" Jessie thought for a moment. She'd never been rich, but she'd never been unhappy, at least not REALLY unhappy. 

"If you ask me," she said, "some things are more important than money. Like freedom." James opened his mouth to protest but shut it again. Deep down he knew she was right, and he knew what he had to do. He had to leave. 

Walking along for a few moments they came across a metal capsule. 

"What's that?" Asked James. Jessie didn't know. 

"I got into it earlier to see what it was and when I came out my partner had disappeared." She opened the door and went in again. The door shut behind her. 

James walked around the back and had time to read the 2 words printed there before the thing disappeared. Time Capsule. Then it was gone, and so was the red haired lady. He supposed he should be scared but he wasn't, the metal capsule was already forgotten as he called to Growlie and set off home with a plan forming in his mind. That night he would pack his most precious belongings and leave home forever. It didn't matter where he went as long as it was far away. Maybe he would head to Pokmon Tech. Some of the world's best Pokmon masters used to go there and being a Pokmon master had always been a dream of his, not that he'd ever dared tell anyone about it.  
  


Jessie opened the door and stepped out again. "Nope, I still have no idea what this thing i..." She stopped and looked around. The little boy who looked a little like James had disappeared, but in his place were James and Meowth. 

"Strange." Said James. Seeing Jessie walk into the strange metal capsule had brought on a feeling of deja vu, and he didn't much like it. 

"It's nothing," said Meowth, "Now hurry up cus those kids and that Pikachu went this way." As Jessie and James followed Meowth, James wondered about the capsule and Jessie wondered about the strange dream she had while she was inside it.  
  


A few minutes later, Team Rocket came across a sign saying 'Missing' with a poster. The little boy in the poster looked a little like James and almost identical to the boy Jessie had met. 

"You didn't meet him" Jessie told herself crossly. "Hmmm," she said to James, "this kid looks a lot like you." 

"You think so?" he replied, "he looks pathetic." 

"That's what she means James," grinned Meowth. 

"Right, We'd better go investigate" Said Jessie, and started walking down the road. Meowth followed, but James stood, looking at the picture of himself. His past had finally caught up with him. He swore he'd never go back, but here he was, and he was sure Jessie would never forgive him if she found out what he'd been keeping from her.  
  
  
The end


End file.
